Trying to repair my Aquarius. Things didn't work out as anticipated, but all was good at the end. Here's a link to Mr Solder FIx showing a neat way to unsolder components: • Desoldering Made Easy ...
Good job in the end! It can be so tedious working on these old sets, I have found some have such fragile PCBs that the traces and pads easily lift no matter how careful a person is. Luckily the Aquarius is still abundantly available when repairs fail. Can't say the same about some super obscure 70s-80s sets I've had on the workbench for months at a time. Even dead Aquarius systems are worth hanging onto for some of their chips like the otherwise unobtainable PLA ICs.
If you’re not planning on saving the chips next time I would suggest cutting the pins with flush cutters right at the chip body then remove them one at a time then clear the holes with a solder sucker.
